The Mark Hamill Appreciation Thread

[November Rain]

Ugh...*gags*

it's true, i actually thought they had hamill on board when it first came out and that he had taken a more sinister tone to this joker

 

[November Rain]

His voice is utterly horrendous. Sometimes he has a very deep voice and sounds like someone like Michael Clark Duncan and other times he sounds like an imitation of Mark Hamill's Joker. It's very annoying and was very apparent in the episode "Joker's Express."

That's what i like about it, it's very versatile

sometimes, he's joking, sometimes he's being serious, sometimes he's pissed off and he manages all of that in one sentence.

like when micheal laughs as the joker you know he's about to tear you a new one and he's going to love it.

when hamill laughs at the joker, the pleasure he gets from it comes across as less sinister and more playful.

it's like hamill is a dress up joker working at jokerland as an employee and micheal is more the real deal messed up harlem inmate.

I know hamill came first and that's all good and dandy but micheal is better

it's the same way i think rimano does a better bruce wayne than kevin conroy (not a better bats though). Rimano's bruce wayne is ****ing out of this world, especially when he turns on it and gets serious. It's probably more intimidating than his batman.



The diner scene 3 minutes is better than every bruce scene in tas (and on par with beyond)

 

[The Joker]

I don't think you'll ever convince anyone that The Batman's Joker voice is better than Mark Hamill's.

Ever!

 

[November Rain]

meh I once changed Guyverjay's mind on a dragonball related subject. This is a piece of cake in comparison

 

[The Joker]

Good luck with that.

You'll need it

 

[Mr. Socko]

I respect your opinion Nov Rain, and I'm only here to voice mine.

I'm just not a fan of anything in "The Batman."

 

[Mr.E.Nygma]

And to sum all up, hooray for the Mark Hamill Joker! It makes a strange contrast with Luke Skywalker...from ordinary (luke) to extraordinary (joker)!

 

[Cassandra]

Hamill always covers his face when doing the Joker voice for fans. He doesn't want to ruin the illusion of it all.

I think that's really cool. It shows dedication and respect for the role on Hamill's part.

Mark's Joker is my favourite on screen version. His voice and laugh is perfect.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Hamill is still my all time favorite version of THE JOKER .

 

[Dark Guardian]

I am frankly amazed that anyone could believe Mr. Duncan's Joker to be better than Mark Hamill's. There is no comparison whatsoever.
In fact, I feel sorry for Michael, because he has to attempt to fill a role that has been, in my opinion, portrayed absolutely 100% perfectly by Mark Hamill. No actor will ever be able to surpass the Animated Series's Joker. Ever.

You look at an episode like "The Laughing Fish" and not only is it one of the best episodes of the series itself, but its certainly one of the top three Joker episodes. That one episode is more satisfying in terms of sheer portrayal of the Joker than the entirety of Jack Nicholson's performance in Batman 1989 (which I happen to regard rather highly), and it will probably still be better than Heath Ledger's performance.

Its simply that good. I believe that certain actors were born to play certain roles. They'll be going along in their career and suddenly they'll hit a character that seems as though it was created for that actor.
This is the case with Mark Hamill and the Joker. There has never been, is not and will never be a better person for that role.

it's the same way i think rimano does a better bruce wayne than kevin conroy (not a better bats though). Rimano's bruce wayne is ****ing out of this world, especially when he turns on it and gets serious. It's probably more intimidating than his batman.



The diner scene 3 minutes is better than every bruce scene in tas (and on par with beyond)

And I'm not even going to comment on that statement. Nor the video which in the end shoots the statement its posted with in the foot.

 

[Damiean Dark]

The Batman has progressed in recent seasons compared to how it began that wayne is good i would say he is nearly as good as conroy like the way even a flying alien he is no match for doesnt faze him he is (in this scene anyway) quite like the comics to make the batman truely great get rid of robin and batgirl i hate them.

 

[November Rain]

I am frankly amazed that anyone could believe Mr. Duncan's Joker to be better than Mark Hamill's. There is no comparison whatsoever.
In fact, I feel sorry for Michael, because he has to attempt to fill a role that has been, in my opinion, portrayed absolutely 100% perfectly by Mark Hamill. No actor will ever be able to surpass the Animated Series's Joker. Ever.

You look at an episode like "The Laughing Fish" and not only is it one of the best episodes of the series itself, but its certainly one of the top three Joker episodes. That one episode is more satisfying in terms of sheer portrayal of the Joker than the entirety of Jack Nicholson's performance in Batman 1989 (which I happen to regard rather highly), and it will probably still be better than Heath Ledger's performance.

Its simply that good. I believe that certain actors were born to play certain roles. They'll be going along in their career and suddenly they'll hit a character that seems as though it was created for that actor.
This is the case with Mark Hamill and the Joker. There has never been, is not and will never be a better person for that role.


And I'm not even going to comment on that statement. Nor the video which in the end shoots the statement its posted with in the foot.

Meh to each their own. I'm always happy when my views stand out from the norm, there are too many people on this site who follow in a stream of comfort and aren't able to diverge when new things come along. I mean to already damn ledger's performance before even seeing it says it all, that's just pig-nosed blind dedication.

I would like to hear your point of view on that diner scene though. I don't know what you mean about shooting itself in one's foot so if you'd like to do it in another thread, by all means set it up.

 

[Dark Guardian]

I would like to hear your point of view on that diner scene though. I don't know what you mean about shooting itself in one's foot so if you'd like to do it in another thread, by all means set it up.

Its just that the entire scene, Bruce Wayne's voice is A) just like his Batman voice, which is ok while he's talking to J'onn but not when the stewardess arrives (I know there is a small rise in inflection when she shows up, but I don't feel its enough to distinguish from 'The Batman' to Bruce Wayne) and B) His voice stays in nearly the same monotone throughout the entire scene! One of the things I really loved about Kevin Conroy's voice was its ability to stay in a Batman voice, and yet be very flexbile and convey as much or as little emotion as the scene called for. You can tell that Romano's voice is not capable of sounding really REALLY angry, or smug, his voice always has to stay in pretty much the same tone, or he'll lose the 'dark' quality to his portrayal.

For example, check out this clip from TAS half of the way in, when Batman is interrogating Stromwell. This really demonstrates Conroy's ability to 'wear' his Batman voice as if it were those tones were the ones he used every day. He's able to give a wide range of emotion through that voice, something I have yet to see anyone, including Romano do with Batman.
"I've come for you nephew Stromwell, Tony Zucco."
"You just can't barge in here making demands!"
"I want him bad Stromwell. REAL bad."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...=13&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3
(Sorry I couldn't find it on youtube but they simply don't have it.

 

[thejestergod6]

Love mark hamill i even have a laughing joker ring tone.......HAHAHAHA

 

[November Rain]

Its just that the entire scene, Bruce Wayne's voice is A) just like his Batman voice, which is ok while he's talking to J'onn but not when the stewardess arrives (I know there is a small rise in inflection when she shows up, but I don't feel its enough to distinguish from 'The Batman' to Bruce Wayne) and B) His voice stays in nearly the same monotone throughout the entire scene! One of the things I really loved about Kevin Conroy's voice was its ability to stay in a Batman voice, and yet be very flexbile and convey as much or as little emotion as the scene called for. You can tell that Romano's voice is not capable of sounding really REALLY angry, or smug, his voice always has to stay in pretty much the same tone, or he'll lose the 'dark' quality to his portrayal.

For example, check out this clip from TAS half of the way in, when Batman is interrogating Stromwell. This really demonstrates Conroy's ability to 'wear' his Batman voice as if it were those tones were the ones he used every day. He's able to give a wide range of emotion through that voice, something I have yet to see anyone, including Romano do with Batman.
"I've come for you nephew Stromwell, Tony Zucco."
"You just can't barge in here making demands!"
"I want him bad Stromwell. REAL bad."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...=13&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3
(Sorry I couldn't find it on youtube but they simply don't have it.

Firstly Kevin conroy stopped being a light hearted bruce in TNBA i think. I haven't watched all of it but i do know in 'The World's finest' his bruce sounded just like his batman. The same goes for his ROles in JL, JLU and also in the batman. There also never seems to be any alteration once his identity is revealed and he can somewhat 'drop' the charade. Watch mystery of catwoman, conroy is probably at his most monotone (before the beyond era).

Also Conroy's bruce and bats became more monotone than it started out as. Earlier bats would portray a much larger range of emotions than the one by the end of jlu who was either cautious or angry (and even that was rare).

Now putting these adie, i don't find this to be a problem when you condiser the nature of their talk, bruce is trying to figure out what is going on and is on the back foot, he works out jonnz is a martian and alsotests the extents of his powers by asking questions and testing him. You can imagine his brain tinkering inbetween the pauses of his speech. This is very clear in the part where he finds out jonnz cheated to find out his identity and then quickly countered.

All in all i feel that the batman they wanted is perhaps more level headed than in dcau. I haven't really seen a scene where rimano has had to show a great range of dark emotions simply because this version isn't that dark. I don't think it's fair to discredit his work based solely on the fact he's hasn't had the opportunity to express range. the most intimidating he's had to be was as a matter of the family when he was (again) looking for zucco at a bar (five minutes into this)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HF0wlB8pwMI&feature=related

Just as a lil point, i would say bruce's serious voice is slightly different from his batman voice, it's not as dirty but still as pungent

I will show his voice can be kinda dark, it went dark when he got some joker serum in him during the laughing bat

http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/thebatman/episodes/25laughingbat/03dumb.mp3

 

[Mr. Socko]

You look at an episode like "The Laughing Fish" and not only is it one of the best episodes of the series itself, but its certainly one of the top three Joker episodes. That one episode is more satisfying in terms of sheer portrayal of the Joker than the entirety of Jack Nicholson's performance in Batman 1989 (which I happen to regard rather highly), and it will probably still be better than Heath Ledger's performance.

Let's not get too carried away now.

 

[Dark Guardian]

Firstly Kevin conroy stopped being a light hearted bruce in TNBA i think. I haven't watched all of it but i do know in 'The World's finest' his bruce sounded just like his batman. The same goes for his ROles in JL, JLU and also in the batman. There also never seems to be any alteration once his identity is revealed and he can somewhat 'drop' the charade. Watch mystery of catwoman, conroy is probably at his most monotone (before the beyond era).

Also Conroy's bruce and bats became more monotone than it started out as. Earlier bats would portray a much larger range of emotions than the one by the end of jlu who was either cautious or angry (and even that was rare).

Now putting these adie, i don't find this to be a problem when you condiser the nature of their talk, bruce is trying to figure out what is going on and is on the back foot, he works out jonnz is a martian and alsotests the extents of his powers by asking questions and testing him. You can imagine his brain tinkering inbetween the pauses of his speech. This is very clear in the part where he finds out jonnz cheated to find out his identity and then quickly countered.

All in all i feel that the batman they wanted is perhaps more level headed than in dcau. I haven't really seen a scene where rimano has had to show a great range of dark emotions simply because this version isn't that dark. I don't think it's fair to discredit his work based solely on the fact he's hasn't had the opportunity to express range. the most intimidating he's had to be was as a matter of the family when he was (again) looking for zucco at a bar (five minutes into this)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HF0wlB8pwMI&feature=related

Just as a lil point, i would say bruce's serious voice is slightly different from his batman voice, it's not as dirty but still as pungent

I will show his voice can be kinda dark, it went dark when he got some joker serum in him during the laughing bat

http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/thebatman/episodes/25laughingbat/03dumb.mp3

I agree completely with you on the fact that Kevin's voice began to lose its quality as soon as TNBA hit. This could have been for a number of reasons, possbily because he was getting older and was unable to stretch his voice as much, or he just stopped trying. Either way the end result wasn't as good as his voice in the Original episodes.

And yes I have heard Rino Romano's 'serious' Bruce Wayne versus his 'light' Bruce Wayne. But unfortunately for him, the difference isn't nearly as...satisfying in terms of sheer Batman feel as Kevin Conroy's.
Just listen to this about three minutes in:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...l=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
He starts out in his angrier but still light Bruce Wayne voice, and as soon as he hangs up the phone, switches over to the Batman voice. I don't know if its just me, but that never sounds as cool coming out of Mr. Romano's mouth.

As for Romano not getting his chance to express his range, I just don't think thats it. I've watched quite a few episodes where he had the opportunity to make his performance more emotional, and the scene would have been better for it. I don't think its that he hasn't the opportunity, but that he just doesn't have the range. Remember when everyone said that Bale's Batman voice always sounded forced to them?
Thats what Romano's sounds to me.

Although I have to admit, just that little clip from the Joker Serum Batman was pretty darn cool. Nontheless, it cannot compete with Conroy's wearable, stretchable Batman voice (at least in the first run of TAS).

Let's not get too carried away now.

 

[bethehero7404]

Two things surprised me in The Animated Series.

1. Batman's voice Kevin Conroy is an African-American.
2. The Joker was Mark Hamill

When I learned that I also remembered that Mark was also in THE FLASH live action series as THE TRICKSTER you can see his origins of the Joker voice as well and he was also the Green Goblin in the original Spider-man cartoon.

Amazing talent.

 

[Dark Guardian]

Two things surprised me in The Animated Series.

2. The Joker was Mark Hamill

When I learned that I also remembered that Mark was also in THE FLASH live action series as THE TRICKSTER you can see his origins of the Joker voice as well and he was also the Green Goblin in the original Spider-man cartoon.

Amazing talent.

All of this I knew, but

1. Batman's voice Kevin Conroy is an African-American.

What?!

Spoiler

He might have some African American blood but somehow I don't think that man is truly black. Sorry.

 

[Mikelus]

Mark Hamill, simply the best Joker ever.

November Rain, if you like being in the minority good for you, but to most very demanding fans, Hamill and Conroy were the best.

 

[November Rain]

Don't get me wrong, Hamill obviously had some influences for micheal's joker which shines through but his take on it i consider as being fresh.

Perhaps hamill's intepretation is somewhat more accurate to what is shown in the comics, i don't have any batman comics. Micheal's JOker is more of a jester gone mad and the fact that he slips into that dark pace ever so easily makes his high pitch voice more sinister for me. I also think he's capable of nailing the laugh well as well.

Hamill's joker for me had become far too polished, more like a crazy gentleman who had an afinity for the limelight (i believed he captured the airwaves on three different occasions over dcau). He was always very well tailored and had a charm about him, you could almost understand harley's lust for him which made her more human. Harley's lust for this joker bears no real ground and makes them both seem more crazy because there is no obvious draw between them.

I do have a tendency to like change though, i'm also a fan of the clone saga, i do like variations to the status quo as long as they make sense to myself and aren't forced.

 

[November Rain]

I agree completely with you on the fact that Kevin's voice began to lose its quality as soon as TNBA hit. This could have been for a number of reasons, possbily because he was getting older and was unable to stretch his voice as much, or he just stopped trying. Either way the end result wasn't as good as his voice in the Original episodes.

I was going to say something about his age but i didn't know if it was applicable. You're obviously right

And yes I have heard Rino Romano's 'serious' Bruce Wayne versus his 'light' Bruce Wayne. But unfortunately for him, the difference isn't nearly as...satisfying in terms of sheer Batman feel as Kevin Conroy's.
Just listen to this about three minutes in:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...l=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
He starts out in his angrier but still light Bruce Wayne voice, and as soon as he hangs up the phone, switches over to the Batman voice. I don't know if its just me, but that never sounds as cool coming out of Mr. Romano's mouth.

The thing is that the bruce shown in both these cartoons are very different.

Tas bruce was more like a care free light hearted member of a board of his father's company. He was somewhat forgettable piece of gotham's elite.

The batman's bruce has not only been showcased more frequently but also has played a greater part in wanting to actively help his community and also his close friends. I feel the reason his batman may be less dark is because he 'helps' gotham on both sides of the fence while tas' put too much emphasis on the batman side. Being batman isn't as big a part in the batman's life. He isn't completely consumed about it, he merely uses it as a tool.

As for Romano not getting his chance to express his range, I just don't think thats it. I've watched quite a few episodes where he had the opportunity to make his performance more emotional, and the scene would have been better for it. I don't think its that he hasn't the opportunity, but that he just doesn't have the range. Remember when everyone said that Bale's Batman voice always sounded forced to them?
Thats what Romano's sounds to me.

On one hand he probably doesn't have the iconic voice of batman that conroy has but my point was always about his bruce though.

the second point is the one i stated earlier about having a more rounded batman (perhaps that's why they made the theme tune more like the one from the 60s cartoon in the third series to reflect this more balanced batman like they had back then) so even if he could express it, he's been directed not to.

Although I have to admit, just that little clip from the Joker Serum Batman was pretty darn cool. Nontheless, it cannot compete with Conroy's wearable, stretchable Batman voice (at least in the first run of TAS).

the laughing bat is a great episode, it highlights the joker at his best with his warped sense of logic and his relationship to batman is forged in steel. The ying and yang balance between them is revealed. It's genius.

Theoretically speaking bruce should also be dark in the episode artifacts so i'll have a look through that one to see if i can find anything

 

[SPIDERMAN117]

BUMP!! 27 seconds in the king performing himself[YT]<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nlEfSO6Yops&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nlEfSO6Yops&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>[/YT]

 

[Vile]

BUMP!! 27 seconds in the king performing himself

Awesome!

 

[bulletbillx]

Mark Hamill is awesome. I'd like to see them get the TAS voice actors together again and make a direct to DVD version of The Killing Joke and/or The Man Who Laughs.